Strip metal package



Aug. 31, 1943. .1112. OTT 2,328,356

STRIP METAL PACKAGE Filed March 25, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l Q1 Zia/0, hi0 7': SQ JQ/UL l mm 01ft WW W- Aug. 31, 1943. J. E. oT'r ,3

7 STRIP METAL PACKAGE Filed March 25, 1959 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Manta: fa/2n lba'r'm gm:

Y seriously damaged.

Plates A g. 31,1943

e 2,328,356. r s'rmr METAL PACKAGE" John Ekern OttlLlsleI ownship;Dul'ageCounty;1

i Ill.,' assignor to Acme Steel Company, Chicago,

Ill-. a corporation of Illinois H s Application March' 25, 1939,.Serial No; 264,255] 61Claims. it (01. m, I

i 1 This invention relates to improvements in st ip metal packagesand methods of forming such l packages, .and its. purpose is to provide an improved package or bundleadapted to be readily moved about and tobe shipped in freight cars v Theinvention may be emand other carriers. plOyed in bundling and shipping hotrolled and cold rolled strip steel and various other articles having similar shapes which are cut to substantially uniform length. r It has heretofore been the practice to ship hot rolled strip steel, and'other articles havingrnaterially greater, width than thickness and materlally greater lengthy than width, in bundles formed by piling a upon each o her flatwisein parallel relation and then securing them together by surrounding fiexible binders'formed of such materials as wire or fiat steel strapping. Such bundles have been un-j satisfactory because they readily bend and sag when theyare picked up and transported by cranes or by workmen, with the result that the blnders'have become broken and the strips have .fannedf out bundleor' elsewhere, so that they have often been considerable length, such as sixteen feet oreight considerable number of strips and separated at the ends of the These troubles have been particularly pronounced with bundles of strips of bundle in whichlthe tendencypf'the strips in any group'to-fbend transversely of their own planes is. overcome. by vthe rigidity or the right-angularly disposed strips of an adjacent group. In forming sucha bundle the heightof the pileofstrips is preferably substantially equal 1 in one group,

to the width of the strips inthe adjacent group or groups, so

of the invention is to provide a new form of strip metal bundle adapted to be secured in unitary relation to oneor more other similar bundles to form a compact load unit adapted to be shipped in a freight car or method described and claimed in the UnitedStates patent of Chester M. Mac- Chesney and-'JohnEkern Ott; No. 1,703,495.

Other objects relate tovariousffeatures of the improved packageand to-detailsof thermethod of forrningrthis package which will appear more fully hereinafter. s a

- The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspecification taken with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodi ments of the invention are illustrated. In the:

drawings,

eenfeet, for example, as it has been difficult to pick them up onaccounflof their tendency to bend and they have consequently been dragged dverfloorsand platforms with resulting breakor the strips.

8cc! the binders and damage to the surfaces The principal object of the present invention is tojovercome the above mentioned diflicultiesfand others, by providing anew form of bundle or package which has beam-like rigidity throughout its length and is thus capable of belngmoved about byl cranes orother devices without bendingthestrlps which compose the bundle. More particularly, it isan object of the invention to provide an improved package or bundle of strip metal or other likeobjects comprising va. plurality ofsections bound. together, each section comprising a pluralityof strips which are arranged substantially at right "angles to the planes of. the strips of another section. A further object is to provide an .improved method 0f bundling flat strips "and the like according to which the strips are arranged in separate adjacent piles orgroups withthe strips in each group extending at right anglestothe nextladjacent group. after which the several groups are secured together by surrounding flexible binders to form a compact or m str a y perspective view of a package em- Figure lshcws' 'a perspective viewof one form' of package embodyin the features of the pres-y parts thereof broken away;

ent invention} with Fig; 2 shows an enlarged transverse section taken ontheline2--2 of Fig. 1;"

Fig; 3 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing a modification or the invention in whicnthe package is made up of four sections insteadof three 1 Fig. 41s a perspective view, similar to that of Fig. 1; showing amodifiedform of the package of the present invention in which-sheet metal protective caps are mounted over the ends of the package;

Fig. 5 is a Fig. 6 is aperspective view similar to that of Fig.1 showinganother form of the improved package in .which'a protective covering of paper or thelikeis folded about the adjacent groups bodying another form of the invention in which the metal strips are enclosed. in a wooden box before beingbound together. [I In thfe'iorm of the invention shown in'Figs. 1 and '2, the improved package I0 is made that the bundle as a whole has a" rectangular cross sections, Still another object other carrier without the use H e of bracing, blocking or other securing means,

according tothe I perspective view of oneyof the protectiv caps which is mounted over the ends of' the package illustrated in Fig. 4;

each piece twisted together after it has been drawn taut. Each side section lilb is similarly made up of a plurality of metal strips H which are preferably secured together by flexible binders 52 which are tied together with wire or the like. ranged in vertical planes so right angles to the strips in a sufficient number of strips H are section Illa to cause the equal approximately the width .of the strips in the sections ldb so that when all of the sections are arranged adjacent each other,"as shown in 1, they form a bundle of rectangular 'cross section. The sections or" together by surrounding flexible may be formed of steel strapping or the likeand which preferably have wooden cleats l4 enclosed within them and extendinglacross the upper and lower sides of the bundle. are three flexible binders 13 extending around the package, and. after the binders have been drawn taut, their overlapping .ends are secured together by sealed jointsiS which may be of the form disclosed in the Ralph H. Norton, No. 1,260,016, or by any other joint suitable for the purpose. When the sections Ida and ltb have thus been bound together, they form a rigid package which may be lifted and transported, without danger of bending any of the; strips, since the strips of any section can not bend transversely 'to their ownplanes without that they extend at the section lila and bending the strips in an adjacent section in their own planes. The package thus retains a rigid bean1-like form' which resists relativemovement of the strips' 1 i I a In the form of the invention described above, the central section of the package contains more strips than either of. the lateral sections but, if desired, the bundle or package may be made up of a number of' sections which contain equal numbers of metal strips,ias shown in Fig. 3. Inthis embodiment of the invention, the package ll comprises two central sections Ila and two lateralsections ill), the strips ofeach section being secured together by surroundingwires 18, or the like, which have their ends. twisted or otherwise secured together; These sections may be formed in advance of such size that when the two central sections 1m are superimposed upon each other, their height equals approximately the width of the strips 49' which are employed in making the sections, thus producing a package of rectangular cross section. When the sections Ho and lib-have been arranged, as shown in Fig; 3, they are secured together by surrounding flexible binders 20, the ends of which are secured together by sealedjoints -21. Wooden cleats 22 are preferably placed transversely of the package on its upper and lower sides within the binders 2'3. This form of package has the advantage that any sections may be selected from a group of previously prepared sections of uniform size and they are then arranged with v the strips of two sections extending horizontally The strips H in the sections IBb are arplaced in the. height of this section to the bundle are bound.

binders [3 which:

In this instance, there 4 United States patent to age has the strips of ranged in compact metal strips having a and the strips of the other sections extending vertically. Of course, one lateral section l'lb is sufficient to obtain the advantages of the inven tion, as the essential thing is that the bundle comprise at least two sections which have their strips disposed at right angles to each other..

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, there is shown a modification of the invention in which the bundle 25 is made up of a central section 25a, which may include one or more separate groups of metal strips, and two lateral sections 2% made up of separate strips 26 which are similar to those embodied in the central section 2511., the latter section being of the same height substan-'- tially as the width of the strips 26. This packeach section secured together by surrounding binding wires 21 and the: sections of the package are secured together by surrounding flexible binders 28 which enclose wooden cleats 28 and have their ends secured together by sealed joints till. This package may beef the same form as those illustrated in either Figs. 2 or 3, except that the ends of the pack 1 age are enclosed by cap members v'ii which may be formed ofv waste sections of sheet metal which may be .cut to havethe form illustrated particularly in 5. Each cap member is shown as comprising two plates 31a and 39b which cross the bundle and'ter- These cap members are adapted to be fitted over the ends of the package before applying the endmost binders '28 and the cleats 29, and when these binders are applied, the end portions of the flaps 3 lo and Eid are enclosed by the binders and the cleats so that place to give protectionto the ends .of themetal strips 26. I In Fig. Got the drawings, there is shown. a modification of the invention in which the metal strips are provided with a protective covering which is desirable particularly when shipping finefinish which must be preserved. The bundle 35 is made up of -a plurality of metal strips 36 which are-bound to gether in'groups to form a central section 31a and two lateral sections 31b, the strips in the section 31a extending horizontally while the strips in the sections 31!) extend vertically. As in the other forms of the invention, all of the strips are of substantially the same size and the central. section 31a has a height equal to the width of the strips so thatwhen the several sections are arrelation to each other, they forrn'a bundle of rectangular cross section. The metal strips are provided with a protective cover 38 formed of heavy paper, cloth or the like; which is folded about the bundle with the outer longitudinal edge 38a of the strip located on the top-of the bundle and with the folded end flaps 38b of the cover at the ends of the bundle reversely bent over the top surface of the bundle so that they extend beneath two of the wooden cleats 39 which extend crosswise of the bundle on the upper and lower sides thereof in pairs. Te flexble binders 4i], formed of steel strapping or the like, extend transversely of the bundle around the outer sides of the cleats 39 and their ends are secured together by seals 4!. In'this manner,- the protective covering is held securely in place by the binders which serve also to prevent relativeseparation of the metal strips.

they are held firmly in section extending In Fig. of the clrawingsthere is disclosed a iurther modification of the invention which is particularly adapted for use inthe shipment of cold rolled steel bundle 45 includes a plurality case, the strips of each section are not bound together, but all of the sections or groups are placed in a wooden box 48 which is of such size that it is closely fitted by the groups of metal strips when they are arranged therein. This box may be formed in the usual manner of wooden boards which are secured together by nails 49 and after the metal strips have been enclosed in this box, a series of flexible binders 50 of steel strapping or the like are drawn taut around the outer side of the box. After being drawn taut, the overlapping ends of each strap 50 are secured together by seals 52.

' Due to the rigidity of the packages or bundles which is obtained by the novel arrangement of the metal strips disclosed in the present invention, either of the bundles shown in Figs. 6 or '7 may be moved about and shipped without danger of destroying the coverings due to the bending of the metal strips, which is a difliculty which has heretofore been encountered in the shipment of metal strips to which coverings of paper or the like have been applied. The coverings of the present invention are retained in place without damage due to the distortion of the bundle so that the metal strips arrive at their destinations in the condition they were in when first arranged in the bundles. Although the invention has been described in connection with the shipment of metal strips, it is the intention that the invention may be practiced with various forms l of flat or sheet material,

such as lumber, paperboard,,and the like, in connection with which the advantages of the present invention may be obtained by a relative right-angular arrangement of the flat members which are positioned in difierent sections of the bundle.

Although certain embodiments of the inventicn and certain examples of the improved method of forming the bundle of the prersent invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that the invention may assume various forms and that the method may be practiced in various ways coming within the scope of the appended claims. I claim:

1. A bundle of flat flexible metal strips comprising a plurality of parallel sections bound together and each comprising a plurality of strips, thestrips in each section being arranged parallel to each other and normal to the planes of the strips of another section with the longitudinal axes of the strips in all of said sections extending parallel to each other,6said strips in all of said sections being of the same size.

2. A bundle of flat strip material comprising a plurality of parallel sections, arranged side by side in non-overlapping relation and bound together and each comprising a plurality of flat each other and arranged with some of the strips extending edgewise to the planes ofthe other strips, cleats extending transversely of said strips, and flexible binders surrounding said cleats and said strips.

4. A bundle of identical flat flexible metal strips comprising a plurality of. parallel sections each composed of a plurality of parallel sections each composed of a plurality of parallel strips, all of said strips having their longitudinal axes extending parallel to each other, the

stripsin one section extending in planes normal to the planes of the strips in another section, flexible binders surrounding the strips in each section, v the bundle toh-oldthe sections together.

5. A bundle of flat flexible metal strips comprising a. plurality of parallel sections each composed of a plurality of parallel strips, all of said strips havingtheir longitudinal axes extending parallel to each other, the strips in one section extending in planes normal to the planes of the strips in another section, flexible binders surrounding the strips in each section, other flexible binders surroundingthe bundle to hold the sections together, and cleats interposed between the last named binders and the sections and extending transversely of said strips.

6. A bundle of rectangular cross section of long fiat flexible metal strips of rectangular shape.

comprisinga plurality of parallel sections bound JOHN EKERN O'I'I.

binders surrounding CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. I Patent No. 2,528,356. August 51, l9l .5

JOHN EKERN OTT.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line 26-27, claim 11., after the word "parallel" strike out --sections each composed of a plurality of parallel--; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of October, A. 'D. 19LT5.

. Henry Van Arsdale, (seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

